5th Batch - Slower Cooker and Powdered Milk

For our fifth batch, my wife and I tried the recipe in the slow cooker video we posted, and which can also be found at Every Day Food Storage. My wife grew up eating mostly yogurt made from powdered milk so she was pretty excited to try this out. I prefer using 'real' milk (I still haven't tried raw) because it tastes better(to me). I feel in past days powdered milk was the poor mans way of having milk, but now a days it seems it can be just as expensive as 'normal' milk and in some cases more expensive. At any rate, we do keep some powdered milk for a food reserve and we are always keen on finding recipes that will help rotate our supply. The details for the batch are below.
Ingredients:
Milk:

• Amount: 2 quarts
• Brand: Stop-n-Shop Instant Nonfat Powdered Milk (We aren't 100% sure, I took my detailed notes after the trash went out).
• Notes: We used the measurements from the website to make 2 quarts, which is 3 cups of mix for 2 quarts of water. Additionally we added 2 and 2/3 cups additional mix. In total that is 5 2/3 cups of powder mix to make 2 quarts of milk. (This was significantly more than what the box recommended)

Yogurt Starter:

• Amount: 1/2 Cup
• Brand: Old Home All Natural Plain Yogurt (Local MN yogurt)
• Ingredients: Cultured pasteurized grade A milk & Nonfat milk
• Other Facts: Live & Active cultures (Acidophilus & Bifidus)

Incubator Used:

We used a slow cooker or Crock-Pot

Steps & Notes:

Again, we followed the directions on the Food Storage Yogurt from Everyday Food Storage:

1. Mix Milk: We mixed our powdered milk using the measurements recommended on the website. This might have been a mistake as the ratio of powder to milk was significantly higher than what the packaging recommended. In retrospect it might have been wiser to go with the ratio on the box.
2. Heat Milk: After mixing the milk and pouring it into the slow cooker, we set the slow cooker onto 'Low' heat and left if for 2.5 hours. 'Low' on our slow cooker got the milk to about 188 degrees. The milk got frothy and there was some 'light browning' around the edge of the pot.
   
3. Cool Milk: After 2.5 hours we turned the cooker off and let it sit for 3 hours. This allowed the milk to cool to about 125 degrees. We had a thin 'film' form on the top of the yogurt that we scooped off before mixing in the starter.
4. Stir in Starter: We stirred in  1/2 cup of starter and mixed it well.
5. Incubate: We put the lid on and wrapped towels all around the cooker and left it to incubate.
6. Timing: We let it sit out for 7 hours.

Results:

• Mixed reviews, I think it's okay, my wife doesn't like it.
• Taste: It doesn't really taste that great. I don't think it has that good tart yogurt taste, it's bearable though and as I will talk about below, the texture and consistency help it. My wife feels like it tastes too salty. She was also hoping it wouldn't taste like powdered milk, but to her it tastes like "super condensed powdered milk".
• Consistency: It is very thick and firm, as seen in the video and pictures we took. I'm one of those people who when they taste foods is swayed a lot by the texture of the food. For some reason the fact that this yogurt is so firm and smooth it helps the flavor and is the one redeeming quality.
• Overall Rating: 2 out of 5
• Other observations:
•  My wife really liked this approach to making the yogurt because, for her, it is low maintenance and easy; meaning you don't have to worry about watching the temperature of the milk over the stove. You just have to have the time and a regime to wait 2 hours for it to warm remember to turn it off, wait 3 hours to cool, then remember again to come back to it, then have time to let it sit and incubate for 6-8 hours. For me that would be more work.
• I didn't like that it took so long, and the yogurt wasn't that good. Since I usually make yogurt in the evening after coming home from work, I like that I can heat the milk up relatively quickly, cool it quickly (putting the pot in some water helps, as long as you don't let it cool too much), and then let it incubate overnight while I sleep.

Possible Improvements:

• Use less Instant Powdered Milk in the original mix.
• Try part 'real' milk and part Powdered Milk. If we could get a similar consistency using milk that would be the best of both worlds.

Yogurt 3rd & 4th Attempts

I made a batch of yogurt before leaving for a week to my brothers wedding and I made a batch when we got home, both batches came out about the same. I've noticed that the more I make it and the more I've read the less precise I feel I have to be on the temperatures and times. It is also less 'stressful' and feels effortless to heat up the milk, cool it, and set it out to incubate.

Ingredients:
Milk:

• Amount: 1/2 Gallon
• Brand: Costco's Kirtland whole milk. 
• Other facts: Homogenized, no rBST, Pasteurized, with Vitamin D3 added

Yogurt Starter:

• Amount: 1/2 Cup
• Brand: Old Home All Natural Plain Yogurt (Local MN yogurt)
• Ingredients: Cultured pasteurized grade A milk & Nonfat milk
• Other Facts: Live & Active cultures (Acidophilus & Bifidus)

Incubator Used:

I use a small cooler filled with Warm Water

Steps & Notes:

I followed the same directions as the first time:

1. Heat Milk:
   

   

   Since my 2nd batch I've been using lower and lower temperatures when heating the milk, I've been turning the heat off around 180 degrees.

2. Cool Milk: I only cooled it to 125 degrees, Still on the hot side.
3. Stir in Starter: I stirred  1/2 cup of starter from the last batch into a separate bowl with a smaller portion of milk to try and get a more even dissolution, I then mixed it in with the rest of the milk. 
4.  Pour into containers
   

   

   I usually put a majority in an old yogurt container and then
   put some in smaller glad ware containers. I want to try all glass to see
   if it makes a difference. I tried putting cinnamon sugar in the bottom of one container and it didn't seem to have a negative affect on the final product.

5. Incubate: I used the cooler with hot water, I'm learning of a lot of different methods for this and should do a post on the different methods.
6. Timing: I left these batches in for a little longer. I usually make yogurt in the evening after work and leave it to incubate overnight. It ends up being 8 to 10 hours depending on how early in the evening I start.

Results:

• Thumbs up.
• Taste: Not too tart, and almost sweet tasting.
• Consistency: It is usually more on the delicate side, although the last two seem to have firmed up well. I want to try and get it a little thicker and I've read and heard mixing powdered milk in at the beginning helps.
• Rating: 4 out of 5

Possible Improvements:

• Mix in some powdered milk w/milk before heating. This is supposed to thicken the consistency more.
• Use cooler temperatures to see what is different.
• Try using a slow cooker for incubation.

Yogurt Making in a slow cooker

As I've been reading around and discovering more I've found there are sooo many ways to incubate the yogurt. Here is a video my sister sent me about making yogurt in a slow cooker or crock-pot. There are also some great ideas on what you can use your yogurt in. I personally really like the yogurt cheese (the lady calls it cream cheese).

Enjoy.